garble
/ˈɡɑː(ɹ)bəl/verb, noun
garble is spelled G-A-R-B-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 143,405th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, garble means “To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose not intended by the original author; to mutilate; to pervert” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in garble?
| Letters | 6: G-A-R-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 22 million words; the 143,405th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is garble?
Garble appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 143,405th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce garble?
- /ˈɡɑː(ɹ)bəl/
Garble has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-garble.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of garble
- garbles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- garbling participle, present
- garbled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does garble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose not intended by the original author; to mutilate; to pervert.
to garble a quotation
- 2
To make false by mutilation or addition.
The editor garbled the story.
- 3
To corrupt; to make unreadable, incomprehensible, or unintelligible.
The announcement was completely garbled.
- 4
obsoleteTo sift or bolt; to separate the fine or valuable parts of (something) from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt.
to garble spices
noun
- 1
Confused or unintelligible speech.
The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static.
- 2
obsoleteRefuse; rubbish.
- 3
obsoleteMutilation.
- 4
obsoleteImpurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; garblings.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Garble in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to mutilate; to pervert:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brouiller, déformer |
| German | verstümmeln |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does garble come from?
From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic غَرْبَلَ (ḡarbala, “to sift”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).